Sitting in different chairs, joining in at different times throughout the day, God’s people still gather for worship on this, the Lord’s day. Welcome, to Sunday worship.
Call to Worship
From Jordan’s waters
a messenger cries out:
“Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight!”
New life is found in old words,
and God’s promise, remembered.
Let us worship God
for good news is on the way.
HYMN – On Jordan’s Bank the Baptist’s Cry
All-Age Prayer
Prepare the way of the Lord
GET EVERYTHING READY FOR JESUS!
Father-Mother God,
there is a lot that needs to be done
when a baby is on the way.
We would like to help, if we can, to
Prepare the way of the Lord
GET EVERYTHING READY FOR JESUS!
The house must be clean,
and the bed must be comfy.
There should be clean water and towels;
nothing dangerous that might hurt him.
Show us what we can do to
Prepare the way of the Lord
GET EVERYTHING READY FOR JESUS!
But when this baby came,
the world was not ready,
and it certainly wasn’t safe.
If the germs in the stable didn’t kill him,
Herod’s soldiers would have a good try.
If only they had listened to the wild man
in the desert, who cried out:
Prepare the way of the Lord
GET EVERYTHING READY FOR JESUS!
Help us to listen, loving God.
May we sweep away all the dust in our lives,
and remove the dangerous boulders.
May we put up signs at the dangerous bends,
and have hot meals ready at the service stations.
Let us decorate our houses with fairy lights
that spell out ‘stop here!’ and ‘welcome!’
Let nothing – and no-one – be forgotten, as we
Prepare the way of the Lord
GET EVERYTHING READY FOR JESUS!
Amen.
Reading: Mark 1 v 1-8
Dramatised Reading:
Reflection:
HYMN – Comfort, Comfort O my People
Prayers for Others and Ourselves
God of faithful grace and goodness,
we give thanks for the words of hope and comfort
that echo down the centuries
from Isaiah to John the Baptist,
from Jesus of Nazareth through Mark the evangelist,
through translators, and publishers and printers
to us here today.
“Comfort them,” the prophet is told,
“tell them that they have suffered long enough,
their sins are forgiven”.
And so he does, so she does, so they do.
Faithful God, may we be open to hear your word,
and daring enough to look in unlikely places
for signs of your presence.
May we be wise enough to discern
which of the many voices that we hear
speaks for you, and brave enough to pass on
the radical good news that we hear.
As John spoke from a barren, desert place
to people on the margins,
far from the centres of power, so we pray
for those who live on the margins now,
their births uncelebrated;
their deaths not publicly grieved.
We pray for refugees and asylum-seekers;
for clients of food banks in this country,
and for others who lack even that safety net.
We pray for those whose fragile hold on coping
has been shaken by the effects of Covid:
those without secure jobs or money in the bank;
those for whom home is not a place of safety;
students without loving parents to go back to;
old people without children to look out for them.
We pray for those in positions of power,
the best of whom feel powerless, and admit it;
troubled by the huge responsibility that they bear.
May this be an opportunity for all of us
to reassess what really matters,
and what sort of world we want to live in.
May our vulnerability create a crack
through which your light can shine,
as the solid ground of our confidence is shaken,
may a tiny mustard-seed of faith drop in,
and your kingdom have a chance to grow.
God, in just such times at these
have you sent your prophets to challenge
the powerful and comfort the oppressed.
In just such times as these
have you slipped in alongside your people
to let them know that they are not alone,
for you are with them.
May we be among those who help
to prepare the way for your coming,
and may all the honour and glory be yours.
Amen.
The Advent Wreath – today we light the candle 2nd candle, a candle for peace
The Offering – you can now give safely by online donation on the home page if you wish
Prayer of Dedication
Our God,
you give us always what we need,
and not what we think will make us happy.
We ask for success, and you show us
how to grow through failure.
We ask for peace, and you set us a challenge.
We ask for growth in numbers,
and you give us a microscope to search
for signs of the kingdom.
But when we are hungry, you feed us;
when we grieve, you console us;
when we are weary, you let us rest.
And now,
what do you need and want from us?
Not money; not right belief not ritual praise;
not even the doing of good unless
that springs freely from lives steeped in love.
So all that we can offer
is what you have already given.
We give it back with gratitude and joy.
Amen.
HYMN – O Come Divine Messiah
Sending:
As we go into this week,
may we prepare the way of the Lord,
making straight the paths
that lead to God,
in our hearts and souls,
through our words and actions,
by our choices and decisions.
May we go as God’s beloved,
filled with the Holy Spirit. Amen